Although you can connect a Blue Yeti to an audio interface, the question is, why would you want to? Stereo mode, which can record sound to left and right audio channels, is more for musical recording than podcasts or streaming. But I consulted some musicians, who all had good things to say about the Blue Yeti’s stereo recording quality. Between this and the other three modes, all your bases are covered as a content creator. Blue Yeti review: Verdict

The cardioid mode icon looks like a heart, which is fitting for me because it’s the option I love the most. It’s the ideal mode of operation for most podcasters. This setting is good for not only podcasts, but gaming, streaming and musical recording as well. I’ve even used the Blue Yeti to record voice-over advertisements and have integrated music onto those commentaries seamlessly, with professional results.The three condenser microphone capsules convert the sound of your voice into a varying electrical signal. That signal is fed into the Yeti’s onboard analogue to digital converter (ADC) to produce a digital signal. In a normal setup of the Blue Yeti, that digital signal undergoes some processing, like gain adjustment, before being fed, via a USB port on your computer, into your recording software. So, that’s one conversion from an analogue signal to a digital signal.

It’s not just alluring, either. The Blue Yeti is tough — and tested by my 3-year-old son, to be exact. In his attempt to record his own podcast, or simply try on dad’s headphones, my son has pulled over the Blue Yeti mic at least thrice. Save for a couple of dings, the Blue Yeti hasn’t missed a beat. Even without a case, it travels well and doesn’t take up much space. You can literally record from anywhere with a computer and the Blue Yeti. Trust me, I’ve done it. With all that said, I can imagine situations where you might want to connect a Blue Yeti to an audio interface. You might want to include a specific pre-processor to the signal, or need to simultaneously record from multiple microphones.There’s no difficult setup with the Blue Yeti, either. You literally take it out of the box, plug in the USB cable from your mic to your computer, and you’re ready to go. I’m an Apple user, and the mic works great with Garageband. Whether you’re a PC person or an Apple user, the mic is extremely user-friendly. Furthermore, even if your audio interface has a superior ADC, by the time the signal gets to it, it’s too late. The Blue Yeti’s ADC has already converted the signal twice. Furthermore, it’s possible some extra noise has been added due to an inferior aux cable or the connectors. If it’s because you already had a Blue Yeti, recently bought an audio interface, and are waiting to get a quality XLR microphone, then fair enough. But if it’s because your audio interface has a superior analogue to digital converter and includes a compressor/expander, or because you can add a low-noise inline pre-amp, then it’s debatable whether you are going to hear much of an improvement.